Chief Prince Ferdinand, later Ferdinand I (10 March, 1503, Alcala de Henares, Spain - 25 July, 1564, Vienna)

He was Chief Prince from 1521, then king of Hungary and the Czech state (1526-1564), finally, after his brother had abdicated, from 1556 until his death he was German-Roman Emperor. He was brought up in Spain, his wife was Anna Jagello in accordance with the Habsburg-Jagello family treaty of 1515. He was elected Hungarian king in December, 1526, but he was crowned with the Holy Crown in Székesfehérvár only one year later, in November, 1527. His reign opened a new phase in the history of Hungary: the age of the Habsburg kings, which lasted until 1918. Although he was not able to protect his Hungarian Kingdom from the Turks, during his reign he built the basis of a powerful border defence system, which protected Hungary from Osman occupation for 150 years.

PG